Concrete block machine



Jun@ Ww c. L. SANFORD CONCRETE BLOCK MACHINE Filed Sept. 10, 1955 5Sheets-Sheet l June l, 1937. C, L, SANFORD 2,082,721

CONCRETE BLOCK MACHINE Filed Sept. 10, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 o @Z o WTIT-g4-- l M jun@ L @37 c. a.. SANFQRD CONCRETE BLOCK MACHINE Filedsept. 1o, 1935 3 sheets-sheet s Patented June 1, 1937 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE Claims.

This invention relates to machines for making of blocks and moreparticularly for the making of blocks from plastic material such asconcrete or the like.

An object of this invention is to provide a concrete block formingmachine particularly designed for the purpose of forming one-half of theblock illustrated, described and claimed in my copending application,Ser. No. 603,842. In this application there is disclosed a buildingblock of concrete formed of two Sections separated throughout theirentire extent but connected by longitudinally corrugated metallic ties,the end portions of the ties being embedded in the two sections of theblock. In forming such a block as this, one of the sections is iirstcast or formed and in the process of forming this section, the ends ofthe corrugated ties are embedded in this section of the block. Thisblock section with its ties is then cured and later the opposed blocksection is formed by inverting the first named block section andinserting the ties in the mold for forming the second named blocksection. The particular object of the present invention is to provide amachine whereby the rst named block sections may be formed with the endsof the ties embedded therein and to provide a machine of this characterwhich is in a sense automatic in its action and will produce blocksections in a continuous stream, the material being discharged ontopallets which are carried successively through the machine, the palletsor molded blocks being discharged at one end, the blocks being removablefor curing.

A further object is to provide a machine of this character in which thepallets are separate and independent of each other and guided throughthe machine by means of rails and provide means positively engaging thepallets and positively shifting them along these rails from the entranceend to the discharge end of the machine.

The above and various other objects and advantages of this inventionwill in part be described in, and in part be understood from thefollowing detail description of the present preferred embodiment, thesame being illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:-

Figure l is a detail side elevation partly broken away of a deviceconstructed according to an embodiment of this invention.

Figure 2 is an end elevation partly in section of the device.

Figure 3 is a sectional View taken on the line 3--3 of Figure 1, withthe pressure rollers removed and with the endless belts partly insection.

Figure i is a fragmentary longitudinal section showing the hopper andthe first pressure roller.

Figuer 5 is a detail side elevation of one of the pallets.

Referring to the drawings, wherein like numerals of reference designatecorresponding parts throughout the lseveral views, the numeral IUdesignates generally a base having side anges I3 and a hat top II. Thebase I0 has a plurality of standards or supporting members I2 securedthereto as by bolts I 4, which extend along each longitudinal edgethereof and these supports or standards I2 have projections or bosses I5at a point spaced downwardly from the upper ends thereof, the purposefor which will be hereinafter explained.

The upper ends of the end standards I2 are secured together bybars I6having right angularly related end portions Il engaged by bolts I8.channeled member I9 is secured as by bolts or fastening devices to thebosses I5 at one side of the device and a second channeled member 2| issecured, as by bolts 22, to the bosses I5 at the opposite side of thedevice. These two channel members I9 and 2| are disposed insubstantially parallel relation but laterally spaced from each other andthe upper surfaces thereof are in substantially the same plane. Theinner edges of the channel members I9 and 2| are supported as bysupports 23 and 26 which are secured, as by bolts 25 and 26, to the baseIll.

A guide rail 2l is disposed inwardly of the channeled member I9 and issecured to brackets 28 carried by the inner standards or posts 23. Asecond guide rail 29 parallel to the first guide of the rail is securedto brackets 30 carried by the posts or standards 24. A pallet, generallydesignated 3|, is adapted to slide upon the guide rails 2l and thispallet is preferably constructed of a piece of wood of suitable lengthand width and is provided on the upper surface thereof with a metal moldplate 32 having an upwardly offset intermediate portion 33. The shape ofthis plate 3| controls the configuration of the under side of the blockwhich is formed by this machine. The under side of the pallet or blocksupporting member 3| is provided with a toothed rack 34, the purpose forwhich will be hereinafter described.

nach pauet 3| is provided with a pair of 1aterally spaced downwardlyextending pockets 35 and the side walls of these pockets are providedwith openings 36 below the level of the pallet. These Ypockets areclosed at the lower ends `but open ISO through the surface of the pallet3|. Each mold plate 32 has an opening coinciding with an opening in thepocket, as shown in Figure 2, and tie members 31 intended to be embeddedin the concrete block section are adapted to be disposed initiallythrough the openings 38 and extend downwardly into the pockets 35. Thistie member 31 is preferably of corrugated sheet metal similar to the tieplate shown and described in my cO-pending application, Serial No.v603,842. In

the present instance, there are four of these pockl ets 35 secured tothe pallet 3|, one pair adjacent each end thereof. These pockets 35 aredisposed outwardly of the rack 34 and inwardly of the guides 21 and 29as shown in Figure 2 so that the pallets 3| may freely move along theguides 21 and 29 through the machine.

An endless tractor belt 39 is disposed above the base E0 and has thelower edge thereof riding on rollers 40 carried by bearings 4| securedto one side of the channel member |9. The lower edge of the tractor belt39 also engages inner rollers 42 carried by bearings 43 secured to theinner edge of the channel member i9. In this manner, the belt 39 issupported in upstanding position with its inner edge substantiallyparallel with the guide rail 21.

A second parallel tractor belt 44 is supported on outer rollers 45carried by bearings 46 and on inner rollers 41 carried by bearings 48.The bearings 46 and 48 are secured to the outer and inner edges of thechannel member 2|. The tractor belts 39 and 44 are of a constructionsimilar to the type used for tractors, being provided with plates 49hingedly connected together by pins 50. The pins 50 form inwardlyextending projections or teeth by means of which the belts 39 and 44 maybe moved.

A drive shaft 5| is journalled in bearings 52 mounted on the base i6 andextends longitudinally of the base and is adapted to be connected at oneend to a suitable source of power. A pair of brackets 53 are secured tothe base l0 adjacent one end thereof and these brackets 53 carry abearing 54 in which a shaft 55 is journalled. The

shaft 55 has a worm gear 56 secured thereto which meshes with a worm 51secured to the drive shaft 5|. The shaft 55 also has a bevelled gear 58secured thereto which meshes with a horizontally disposed bevelled gear59 secured to a vertically disposed caterpillar belt driving shaft 60.The lower end of the driving shaft 60 is journalled in a bearing 6|secured to the base |0 and a bearing 62 is carried by the channeledmember I9 and the shaft 60 extends vertically `through this upperbearing 62. The upper end of the shaft 60 is provided with a sprocketwheel 63 which is disposed within the caterpillar or tractor belt 39 andengages the belt at one end of the frame. A second belt driving shaft64, mounted in the same manner as shaft 50, is disposed parallel to the`shaft 60 but laterally spaced therefrom has its lower end journalled in`a bearing 65 secured to the base |0 and extends vertically through abearing 66 carried by the channeled member 2|. This shaft 64 has asprocket wheel 61 secured at its upper end which engages at one end ofthe caterpillar or endless belt 44 and forms a driving means for thebelt 44. The shaft 64 is driven by means identically the same as thedriving means for shaft 69 and is vdriven from the opposite end of theshaft 55.

This bevelled gear meshes with a bevelled gear secured to the shaft 64.

An idler shaft 10 is journalled in the frame structure and has asprocket wheel 1| at its upper end which engages within the caterpillaror tractor belt 39 at the end opposite from the sprocket wheel 63. Asecond idler shaft 12 is journalled in the opposite side of the frameand is provided with a sprocket wheel 13 engaging Within the oppositeend of the caterpillar or tractor belt 44. A plurality of rollers 14engage on the inner run of the belt 39 and a plurality of outer rollers15 engage Within the outer run of the belt 39.

The rollers 14 are provided at their lower ends with trunnions 16engaging in bearings 11 secured to the channeled member |9 and the upperends of the rollers 14 are provided with trunnions 18 engaging inbearings 19 carried by an upper channel member 80. The outer rollers 15have trunnions 8| journalled in bearings 82 carried by the outer portionof the channel member I9 and upper trunnions 83 carried by the rollers15 'are journalled in bearings 84 secured to the upper channel member80. This upper channel member is secured to the cross bars I6 as bybolts or other fastening devices.

The belt 44 is held in vertical position with the intermediate portionthereof of the inside run by means of rollers rotatably carried bybearings 86 and 81. The bearings 86 are secured to the lower channelmember 2| and the bearings 81 are secured to an upper channel member 88,fastened by means of bolts or the like, to the cross bars |6 in the samemanner as the channel member I8. Outer rollers 89 are rotatably carriedby bearings 90 and 9|, the bearing 90 being secured to the lower channelmember 2| and the upper bearing 9| being secured to the upper channelmember 88. As shown in Figure 3, the endless belts 39 and 44 havestraight outer runs and the inner runs thereof are parallel one withanother for a considerable portion of their length with the end portionsof the runs inclined outwardly so that at the intake end of the device,the pallets 3| can be readily started into the machine and at the outletor discharge end the plates 49 forming the belts will be drawn away fromthe sides of the block on the pallet 3|. This drawing away of the platesfrom the pallet is relatively gradual so that there will not be anytendency for the material of which the blocks are formed to stick to theplates 49. The rollers 14, 15, 85 and 89 engage upper and lower ribs 92and 93 respectively, which extend along the upper and lower edges of theplates 49 and form a track to engage the rollers.

A series of pressure rollers 94, and 96 are journalled in bearings 91,98 and 99 respectively, which are secured to the channel members 80 and88. The pressure rollers have gear wheels |00, lill, and |02 securedthereto and a toothed belt |03 is trained over these gears so that allof these pressure rollers will turn at the same speed. Preferably, thefirst pressure roller 94 has the axis thereof slightly higher than thesecond pressure roller 95 and the second pressure roller 95 has the axisthereof slightly higher than the last or finishing roller 96 so that theconcrete or plastic material will be gradually compressed as it movesbeneath the pressure rollers.

The first pressure roller 94 has a shaft |04 which is provided with abevelled gear |05 meshing with a bevelled gear |06 carried by the upperend of a roller drive shaft |01 which extends vertically in the framestructure and is journalled at its lower end in a bearing |08. Abevelled gear |09 is secured to the driving shaft |01 and meshes lilwith a bevelled gear I Ill secured to a shaft III journalled in uprights`I I2. A worm gear ||3 is secured to the shaft I I I and meshes withA aworm VI I4 secured `to the power shaft 5I.

The pallet 3l is moved along the space between the two belts 39 and d4by means of driving gears IIE, IISand III. The gear II5 is rotated by adriving gear |I8 rotatably carried by uprights I|9 and the gear |I8 isdriven by a worm gear meshing with av worm I2I carried by the powershaft 5|. The gear IIS meshes with a gear |22 carried by the shaft whichis rotated by the worm gear II3 meshing with-the worm IM. The palletmoving gear"I|l meshes with a driving gear |23 secured to the shaft 55which is driven by the worm gear 56 meshing with the worm 5l on thepower shaft 5I.

The material which is discharged onto the pallets `3| passes through ahopperl I24 which is supported between the side portions of the frame,being provided with brackets or lugs |25 of substantially L-shapedconstruction which, at one side, engage an intermediate side bar IS andat the opposite side engage a relatively narrow side bar |26. The hopperI24 is provided with an upwardly and forwardly inclined lower edgeportion I2I and the forward wall-or edge of the hopper |213 has adownwardly projecting portion I28 which is adapted to initially form achannel in the material as the pallets ymove therebeneath.

In the operation of this device, the power shaft 5| is connected to asuitable source of power supply, such as a motor or other power means,and when the shaft 5| rotates, the pallet moving gears |I5, IIS, and|I'I will be rotated so that when the first pallet 3| is started inbetween the tractor belts 39 and 44, the gear IIE will engage the rack34 on the bottom of the pallet. Thel pallet moving gears are all of thesame` diameter and are all rotating at the same speed so that the palletwill move through the machine at an even rate. Initially the firstpallet is passed beneath the hopper I24 without any material beingdeposited thereon so that the vertical wall |29 carried by the rear endof the pallet 3| will form the front wall for the succeeding palletwhich also carries a vertical wall |29 at its rear end. The plasticmaterial is discharged upon the pallets in a continuous stream and theforward end portion |28 of the hopper serves as a rake or scraper tolevel off the loose material before the pallet passes beneath the firstpressure roller 913. This pressure roller 9d will initially compact theloose material and this material will be increasingly compacted by thesucceeding pressure rollers 95 and 96. As the filled pallet moves to thedischarge end of the device the pallets with the compressed materialthereon are removed and placed in a drying chamber or other place wherethe plastic material may set. It will, of course, be understood thateach pallet has four corrugated tie members 3l, which are partiallyembedded in the block formed on top of the pallet 3|.

The empty pallets are fed to the intake end of the machine by anysuitable means and the filled pallets are removed by any suitable meansand the mold plates with the molded material thereon are removed fromthe pallets and set aside for the concrete to cure while the pallets arereturned to the other end of the machine for re-use.

It will be obvious from the foregoing that an exceedingly practical andsimple machine has been disclosed whereby concrete blocks may be formedcontinuously in a manner whereby the usual form molds may be eliminated,it being only necessary to have a mold plate 32 for each block which isleft engaged with the compressed material until the material hasproperly set, whereupon the mold plate may be removed and used again.The pallets 3| in their movement through the machine ride on the railsor guide members 21 and 29.

I claimz- 1. A block forming machine comprising a frame, guide means inthe frame, a pallet member slidably engaging the guide means, a toothedrack on the underside of the pallet, gears rotatably carried'by theframe and engaging the rack to move the pallet along the guide means,means for rotating said gears, means for discharging a plastic materialon the pallet, and means disposed on opposite sides of the `pallet andmovable therewith to retain the plastic material on the pallet duringthe movement of the pallet along the guide means.

2. A block forming machine comprising a frame, guide means in the frame,a pallet memn ber slidably engaging the guide means, a toothed racksecured to said pallet, gear means carried by the frame and engagingsaid rack to move the pallet along the guide means, driving means forsaid gear means, a pair of endless wall members disposed one on eachside of the pallet, means for movably supporting said wall members inthe frame in a position whereby one run of each of the wall members willbe disposed adjacent the pallet, driving means for said wall members,and means for progressively compressing the material on the palletduring the movement thereof along the guide means.

3. In a block forming machine, a removable mold comprising a relativelyflat member, an end wall secured to one end of the member and aplurality of receptacles secured to the underside of the member forholding tie members in a position whereby a portion of said tie memberswill project above the top of the flat member, said flat member havingopenings therethrough communicating with the receptacles.

4. In a block forming machine, a pallet comprising a plate, an end wallsecured to one end of the plate, said plate having a plurality ofopenings therethrough, a plurality of receptacles secured to theunderside of the plate, said openings communicating with the receptacleswherebytie members may be disposed within the receptacle with a portionof the tie members projecting above the top of the plate.

5. In a block forming machine, a pallet member, a vertically disposedwall at one end of the pallet member, said pallet member having aplurality of openings therethrough, a plurality of receptacles securedto the underside of the pallet member, said openings communicating withthe receptacles and a toothed rack extend ing longitudinally of thepallet and disposed between pairs of said receptacles.

6. In a block forming machine, a pallet for receiving plastic materialthereon, the pallet having apertures therethrough, and means for holdingtie members inserted in said apertures and projected above the upperface of the pallet.

7. In a block forming machine, a pallet having an upstanding Wall at oneend having a plurality of apertures extending through the pallet, andmeans coacting with said apertures to support a series of tie members insaid apertures with their lower ends below the rear wall of the palletwhereby the tie members may be embedded within lthe material depositedupon the pallet.

8. A block forming machine, comprisingv a supporting frame, a pair ofguide rails supported on the frame, a pair of endless elements disposedone on each side of the rails, means for supporting the inner flight ofeach endless element against inward movement, the inner flights of theendless elements being disposed closely adjacent said rails, a hopperdischarging into the space between said rails, the. rear wall of thehopper being lower than the front Wall and acting as a strike-on plate,a series of pallets adaptedv to be disposed upon the rails, each pallethaving rack teeth on its lower face, a series of wheels disposed belowthe path of movement of the. pallets and having teeth engaging thepallets whereby to shift the pallets longitudinally along the rails,means for driving said toothed wheels andthe laterally disposed endlesselements at the same speed, and a series of oompressing rollers mountedin said frame in advance of the hopper and adapted to compress thematerial disposed on the pallets from the hopper, the rollers beingdisposed each nearer to the pallets than the next adjacent rearrollers.

9. In a block forming machine, a pallet. the

pallet having apertures therethrough, means below the apertures forholding tie members inserted in said apertures and projected above theupper face of rthe pallet, and amold plate disposed upon the pallet andhaving apertures coinciding with the apertures in the pallet wherebysaid tie members may be inserted through thel ,mold plate and into saidholding means.

V10. A block forming machine, comprising a frame, a pair of guide railssupported on the frame, a plurality of pallet members independent `ofeach other but slidably engaging the guide rails, means carried by theframe for positively engaging the pallets against slippage. and movingthe pallets along the guide means, means for discharging plasticmaterial successively on the pallets, a pair of endless wall membersdisposed in each side of the path of movement of the pallets, means forsupporting the wall members in a position whereby one. run of each ofthe wall members will be disposed closely adjacent the side edges of thepallets, and means moving said wall members at substantially the samerate of speed as the speed oi' movement of the. pallet along the-guiderails.

CHARLES LEMUEL SANFORD.

